Newsletter June 2013

During the autumn months of April & May the Cape winelands were spoilt with some amazing weather with temperatures into the high 20’s. Alas, all good things come to an end as a strong cold front hit the Western Cape, and we saw temperatures plummet to 4 degrees Celsius in the first weekend of June. There was plenty of rain and sporadic hail, causing flooding in certain areas. Although this is certainly not ideal weather to frolic outside, it’s certainly optimum weather for our growing vines. In their dormant stage at the moment, the colder temperatures assist with a slower growing period – which ultimately gives us much better fruit. In the vineyards at the moment, our Percheron horses are hard at work ploughing the soils, and we are busy planting new vineyards to extend our biodynamic marvel. Wonderful news is that our restaurant is open again from 12 June. Chef Gregory is busy experimenting with the seasonal dishes on his new winter menu and the aromas of Blesbok venison is driving all of us insane with hunger. For the rest we are keeping warm inside, occasionally slipping down to the welcoming replace in the tasting lounge to test the current vintages – just to make sure that everything is aging perfectly as it should – after all – someone has to do it…